Super Guppy lands at LR Air Force Base

A NASA Super Guppy lands at the Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012.
A NASA Super Guppy lands at the Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012.

— Officials at the Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville got a rare sight Wednesday when the whale-shaped NASA Super Guppy landed to refuel.

The massive aircraft, which resembles a whale with its extra-large cargo area, is delivering a 23,000 pound mockup of the cockpit and nose of the shuttle to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Ohio.

The plane landed around noon at the Little Rock base, where a small crowd of airmen gathered to watch and take photos.

Some, including Little Rock Air Force Base spokesman Arlo Taylor, ventured on board, getting a close-up look at the cavernous storage area and the surprisingly cramped cockpit of the Guppy.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Taylor said after the quick tour inside. "It's a great opportunity to see a piece of history."

The Guppy, manned by a NASA crew, is the only one of its kind left flying. Several others remain in Europe, crew members said, but they're all in museums.

Rick Hull, project pilot for the Guppy and a former chief of safety at Johnson Space Center, said the aircraft gets a warm reception wherever it lands. The crew recently made a delivery to the Boeing Museum in Seattle and arrived to find some 2,000 spectators eager to see it.

"It's unique," Hull said, standing beneath one of the wings while the Guppy was refueled. "I'm just glad to be flying it. It's a fun airplane."

Upcoming Events